"John Brown" is an
anti-war song
Some anti-war movement, anti-war songs lament aspects of wars, while others satirize war. Most promote peace in some form, while others sing out against specific armed conflicts. Still others depict the physical and psychological destruction that ...
written and composed by American singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
. Written in October 1962, the song was never included on any of Dylan's official studio albums.
Releases
A rough demo of the song performed for publishing company
M. Witmark & Sons in August 1963 was eventually given an official release in 2010 on ''
The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964''.
However, a studio version of the song had already been released under the pseudonym "Blind Boy Grunt" in 1963 on a compilation album entitled ''Broadside Ballads, Vol. 1'' (one of five Dylan compositions on the release). This performance was later included in ''The Best Of Broadside 1962–1988'' box set released in 2000. A pseudonym was employed due to contractual issues regarding Dylan performing on non-
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
releases.
Three live versions are officially available: one of Dylan's earliest recorded performances of the song on ''
Live at the Gaslight 1962
''Live at The Gaslight 1962'' is a live album including ten songs from early Bob Dylan performances recorded in October 1962 at The Gaslight Cafe in New York City's Greenwich Village. Released in 2005 by Columbia Records, it was originally distri ...
'' (released in 2005), a 1963 performance on ''Live 1962–1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections'' (released in 2018), and a 1994 performance on ''
MTV Unplugged'' (released in 1995).
Song lyrics
"John Brown" consists of twelve verses written in a straightforward manner.
"John Brown" Lyrics
/ref> The song, composed in Dylan's protest song period, tells a story about a mother who sends her son John Brown to war on some foreign land, and he returns blinded and injured. Thematically, the song is very similar to the old Irish folk-song
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
s "Mrs. McGrath
"Mrs. McGrath" (also known as "Mrs. McGraw", "My Son Ted", "My Son John", and "The Sergeant and Mrs. McGrath") is an Irish folk song set during the Peninsular War of the early 19th century. The song tells the story of a woman whose son enters the ...
" and " Paddy's Lamentation".
See also
* List of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes
This is a list of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes. Throughout his career, Bob Dylan has drawn inspiration from many traditional folk sources, including the songs written by Dylan listed below, which borrow from earlier works.
See also
...
* List of anti-war songs
References
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Songs written by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan songs
1962 songs